A long walk, a short walk and a night walk in the Lakes

5/6.3.14
Walking with; Graham

I have a tee shirt somewhere that bears the motto "Better a rainy day on the hill than a sunny one in the office" and it is a philosophy that I have strongly adhered to over the last few years, taking everything Mother Nature can throw at me and still smiling! However, there are the odd few occasions when it can be a bit of a struggle to feel the love, even with the alternative being the suit and tie 9-5.....
Day one got off to a niggly start when United Utilities had the temerity to charge me £7 to park on the muddied patch of waste ground at Steel End, to be frank, it's a bloody cheek. None-the-less it was a decent day and as I followed the path along Wyth Burn away from the road I eased into the walk enjoying the steady climb toward the snow capped Greenup Edge. I was using a 1:50000 scale map as I am trying out the different scales as part of my ML training and the lack of fine detail was noticeable as I followed a deep ghyll up towards Ullscarf. On the map there were only two streams shown whereas on the ground it was more than twice that.....still I made the summit of Ullscarf and crunched through the untrodden snow along the ridge line. I descended across more untouched snow fields to Standing Crag and then followed the seemingly unending fence line that whilst not appearing on my map appeared to run parallel to the marked right of way. The path junction I'd identified as a tick feature never appeared and pretty soon I was scanning the featureless, bleak, boggy marsh for a fix on where I was, eventually I decided that rise ahead of me was High Tove and that the fence line had effectively become a path in it's own right, albeit one unmarked on the larger scale map. It was unpleasant underfoot, each step sinking deep into the mire and sapping the energy and as soon as I made the trig at High Seat I decided I had had enough. I headed off the top and across more unforgiving marsh before making the knee crunching descent down Middlesteads Gill to the Thirlmere shore path from where it was a good 40min stroll back to the car and then onto the Windermere YHA, confusingly not in Windermere, but warm, friendly and serving Jenning's ale.....
"Put Wednesday behind you and move on I told myself....." Thursday was grim, proper low cloud, relentless drizzle that soaked through everything and negligible visibility. I made my way up Wansfell Pike, played around with my rope, bit of abseiling, belaying my rucksack etc, before the greyness became too oppressive and I made my way back down to Ambleside for coffee and warmth. It wasn't over yet.......I'd arranged via Facebook to meet Graham ( who goes by the web name Bearded Mountain. Man http://www.beardedmountainman.com/) for a night nav. If I wasn't an aspiring ML there'd be no way on earth you'd have dragged me out of The Golden Rule or The Mortal Man on a night like this with little to see and clothes starting to smell like a damp Retriever....but there you are, Loughrigg it was. Three hours of splashing through bogs seeking out ring contours, stream junctions and tiny tarns and sharing experiences of ML training and assessment meant the drizzle and gusty winds went almost unnoticed. Social media has been a very useful tool as I pursue my goal of becoming an ML and generous people like Graham who are willing to share their time and experience represent all of what is good about the outdoors community!

To view the full album please click on the link below;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.842344012448221.1073741853.597048676977757&type=1

Four seasons in one trip

13-15.5.13
Walking with; Nobody

Off to the Lakes again for comprehensive proof that in spite of last week's Bank Holiday sunshine in Wales, Britain seems reluctant to shake off Winter just yet. I spent the morning in Ambleside touring the gear shops in search of a new jacket, I eventually settled on the Montane Superfly which will be getting it's first outing next week as I am somewhat superstitious about throwing a new garment directly into the fray. Lunch done, I decided to drive up to Kirkstone Pass and have a go at Red Screes which I'd seen from the other side on my Fairfield Horseshoe route http://www.comewalkwithmeuk.co.uk/2012/10/the-fairfield-horseshoe.html. The ascent from the Kirkstone Pass Inn took on some of the eponymous screes and there was a fair amount of judicious route picking and minor scrambling all of which made the sudden appearance of the summit very satisfying. Wainwright claims that the cairn atop Red Screes is the largest of the Eastern Fells and it provided a degree of shelter from the wind which had started whipping hailstones across the tops somewhat lessening my enjoyment of the spectacular views back towards Windermere, across to Fairfield and down to Brothers Water. I decided that discretion might well be the better part of valour at this stage and headed (with the wind battering at my back) down the broad ridge of Middle Dodd before slipsliding my way down to Kirkstone Beck and with the hail now turned to a wet sleet I was very happy to see the ancient inn ahead of me as I crested the final slope. The pub is reckoned to date back to the Fifteenth Century and is listed as the third highest inn in England, it's certainly an attractive building and the fire was burning as I supped a restorative pint, very welcome. I spent the night at the Ambleside Backpackers which I can heartily recommend http://www.englishlakesbackpackers.co.uk/ after a few pints at The Gilded Lily!
   I have a few dirty little secrets; I like JLS and Bombay Bad Boy Pot Noodles, but, perhaps the worst of them was, that for someone describing themselves as a passionate hillwalker I had never climbed Helvellyn....well, that has at least been rectified! I decided to take the easy way up and parked at the exorbitantly expensive Wythburn car park next to the beautiful little church that served the community of Wythburn before it was drowned under the waters of Thirlmere. Coleridge and Wordsworth both mention the building and I found it a lovely, poignant spot. I followed the path running parallel to Comb Gill and then skirting below the peak of Nethermost Pike which afforded excellent views of Thirlmere and the Western Fells and then as the path levelled out there was Striding Edge with a couple of brave souls picking their way along it. There was fresh snow on the top and a bitter wind and the cross shaped shelter was well populated, the sky was clear though and the views to Ullswater and beyond were worth every ounce of effort. I followed the edge of the busy summit and headed down past Lower Man and along the ridge to White Side (for lunch) and then onto Raise. It was at this stage the sun came out and ......stayed out. I took off my jacket, smiled for a little while and then meandered onto Stybarrow Dodd for a wee spot of rest looking out of miles and miles of beautifully scenic countryside that yesterday would have been completely invisible! Time was ticking on so I headed down the increasingly sheer and stunningly beautiful Stanah Gill until reaching the path that ran parallel to the lakeside road, flitting in and out of the pine forest (spotting my first Chiffchaff of the year) until I reached the welcome sanctuary of my car! I spent the night at the YHA in Hawkshead http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/hawkshead catching up with my friend Rob, whom I'd worked with at Castleton last year. He introduced me to the joys of Loweswater Gold at The King's Arms in the picturesque village for which I am very thankful!
   Wednesday morning started grey and very quickly progressed to wet and by the time I was on my way up the Coniston Fells, Wetherlam my quarry for the day, wet and windy. The cloud got lower, the wind got higher and I got wetter.....and wetter....and (you guessed it) wetter......Summiting was satisfying, not pleasurable, so I abandoned plans to carry on to Swirl How, and with the wind doing it's very level best to lift me off my feet, I headed down Low Wether Crag, past Levers Water and back towards the Coppermines and a cup of something hot.
Three days, three different walks, and just about every kind of weather chucked at me......roll on next week!

To view the full album, please click on the link below;

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=oa.384532758332302&type=1